I wanted to start my latest post by saying thank you to all the people who made March such a fantastic month! For those of you who I met, caught up with or saw from the stage; thank you very much for your support, it’s greatly appreciated! As always, if you want me to blog about anything in particular be it a musical or not just drop me an e-mail or comment on this post!
A Few March Highlights…..
I had a fantastic time with the ‘Phil Meadows Group’ at Matt and Phreds and an equally inspiring time returning to my former place of study, Leeds College of Music where I had the opportunity to both host a work
shop and perform with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra as part of the Leeds International Jazz Education Conference. It was amazing to see so many familiar faces and educators from around the world come together in a truly inspiring conference for all involved!
The day before Leeds, NYJO also had the honour and privilege to perform for her majesty the Queen as part of the diamond jubilee celebrations, a truly once in a lifetime experience.
What i’ve been checking out…..
Madeleine Peyroux is a singer who you may already know about but until recently had avoided my radar – too much bebop I think! But thanks to good friend, great musician and all round nice guy Chris Whiter I have been introduced to her music and have fallen in love with the voice. If you haven’t already you really should check out this video, and let me know what you think!
Upcoming in April:
Towards the end of April there are a couple of gigs that are going to be a lot of fun and if you’re in and around London it would be great to see you. First up is something a little different: On the 17th I will joining the incredible Joe Armon-Jones, Jack Polley and Olly Sarker playing some heavy grooves inspired by a whole host of hip-hop artists including the groundbreaking DJ, drummer and producer J-Dilla! This is going to be happening at Oliver’s in Greenwich, kicking off at 9pm for the cost of £5/3.
I’ll also be returning to the Vortex in Dalston with NYJO on the 22nd as part of their monthly residency. We’ll be performing some commissions that you’ll only hear performed by the band as well as some classic big band arrangements by the likes of Thad Jones and Neil Hefty in what promises to be a great gig. Kicks off at 4pm and is £5 for all 22 of us.
